Man who joined Marines in 1978 heads to Army boot camp at 59-years-old

The US Army has a new recruit- and he’s nearly 60 years of age.

The 59-year-old Army and Marine veteran, identified as Monte L. Gould, left the military a mere three years before he retired, and will now return for basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in the summer.

“It’s kind of cool that they get to see somebody who is 59 and isn’t all fat, beat up with diabetes and on their death bed,” said Gould, who left as a staff sergeant in 2009 and still keeps up with his PT.

Gould plans on being part of the Army Reserve, where he will serve alongside his son in the Las Vegas-based 405th Civil Affairs Battalion.

“If I’m lucky, I got 20 more years and then I drop dead,” Gould added. “To me, this is a last hurrah. To have the opportunity to serve again is a thrill. I’m looking down the gun barrel at 60, and I know all the health problems that come after that.”

According to the Army Times, Gould has to attend basic again due to his time out of service, but he is certainly not the oldest person to do so.

“Amazingly this 59-year-old is NOT the oldest person to go through basic,” said USAREC spokeswoman Lisa M. Ferguson in an email. “In July 1999, a 68-year-old shipped to basic training.”

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